1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sunroof panel opening and/or closing apparatus for an automotive vehicle, and more particularly to an apparatus for opening and/or closing in regular sequence two movable sunroof panels arranged on a roof panel of an automotive vehicle. Here, sunroof implies an automobile roof having an openable panel. The two movable sunroof panels are a forward sunroof panel which can be tilted forward front down to form a windscreen and a rearward sunroof panel which can be shifted rearward into an envelope formed by two stationary roof panels when the sunroof panel is open.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sunroofs are well known accessories in automotive vehicles. In the sunroof, an aperture is formed in a roof panel of an automotive vehicle and a single opened and/or closed sunroof panel is attached to a roof panel aperture in order to improve ventilation and to provide an expansive passenger compartment atmosphere. In these prior-art sunroof structures, only a single sunroof panel is usually slid along and under the roof panel. In these single sunroof panel structures, however, when the sunroof panel is shifted or opened, rain directly falls into the passenger compartment.
To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, recently a sunroof composed of two movable panels has been proposed, in which a forward sunroof panel is tilted forward front down to form a windscreen and a rearward sunroof panel is shifted rearward into an envelope formed by two stationary roof panels. A sliding sunroof for automotive vehicles of the above-mentioned type is disclosed in German Patent DT No. 1 946 161. In this prior-art sunroof panel opening and/or closing apparatus, since two movable sunroof panels are driven independently by means of two separate panel driving wires, there exists a problem in that the structure is complicated and thick, thus resulting a higher manufacturing cost.
The arrangement of the prior-art sunroof panel opening and/or closing apparatus disclosed in German Patent DT No. 1 946 161 will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings under DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.